Functional Neuroanatomy: Sensory Pathways

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on functional neuroanatomy, focusing on sensory pathways and modalities.

Transduction

The process of converting energy from the environment into electrochemical signals.

Sensation

The process of detecting stimuli through sensory receptors and converting them into neural signals.

Perception

The experience of sensation in the central nervous system, where information is interpreted.

Somatosensation

The sense that includes touch, temperature, and pain; involves mechanoreceptors embedded in the skin.

Audition

The act of hearing; involves the transformation of sound waves into neural signals.

Cochlea

A spiral-shaped structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells, which transduce sound vibrations into neural signals.

Mechanotransduction

The process by which mechanical energy is converted into electrochemical energy by sensory cells.

Olfaction

The sense of smell; involves the transduction of odor molecules into neural signals without passing through the thalamus.

Gustation

The sense of taste; the experience of taste involves the activation of chemoreceptors in taste buds.

Dorsal root ganglia

Clusters of neuronal bodies outside of the CNS that contain sensory neurons conveying signals to the spinal cord.